First (but not last) Visit to Eyal Winery

Now that we have moved to Binyamina I have lots of new wineries to investigate. Aside from the Big Three, there are two in Atlit, two in Kerem Maharal, three in Zikhron, three in Binyamina, one in Givat Ada, one in Amikam, four in Givat Nili, two in Pardess Hanna, and probably a few I don’t know about.

Since I was off work for all of Pesach, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to visit some of these wineries. While I routinely drink non-Kosher Israeli wine year round, I am rather strict about Pesach, so to make sure there’s no risk of hametz, I stick to Kosher wines during Pesach. This rather limited my plans since there is only one Kosher boutique winery in the area – the Eyal winery in Givat Nili.

5th Annual Home Wineries Fair at the Sorek Winery

This was the fourth time I attended the home wineries fair organized by the Soreq Winery in Moshav Tal Shachar. Last year it was held on the same Friday as the Jacob’s Ladder Festival, so unfortunately I had to miss it (the kids wouldn’t hear of not going to Jacob’s Ladder). So my record is four out of five – not bad.

If you’ve read my past postings (here and here), you know that I particularly enjoy this event. The winemakers are all there; they are happy to tell their stores and they really want to know what you think of their wines.

Vitkin Winery Open House

I think the last time I visited the Vitkin Winery was at least four years ago, and probably longer. Now that we have moved to Binyamina, it is much more convenient, and this event was scheduled at a very convenient time for me, on a Saturday evening.

When I arrived, there were 40 or 50 people in attendance, and the tastings were set up in stations, using barrels spread around the winery’s courtyard as tables.

Launch of Margalit 2011 Vintage

Finally, a few moments to make a posting or two. Hopefully I’ve got the inspiration as well.

As I mentioned in my previous posting, the Margalit Winery is holding their annual open house and launching wines from their 2011 vintage during the run up to Pesach.